Slug-casting machine



Sept. 9, 194-1. G; w. TEMPLE 2,255,338

I SLUGQCAS'I'ING MACHINE Filed 001:. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet l IHHHMI" WWII.

INVENTOR Gauge W 7mp1e p 1941- G. w. TEMPLE 2,255,338

SLUG-CASTINC- MACHINE Filed Oct. '2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR George W Emple Sept. 9, 1941. w, TEMPLE 2,255,338 sLUG-cAsTiNe MACHINE Filed Oct. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 m N 3 INVENTOR fieorge W Ymple Sept. 9, 1941. s. w. TEMPLE SLUG-CASTING MACHINE Filed 001:. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Georye W Ymple 7 A; :ORNEY vm R w. Q S

I II wk will Patented Sept. 9, 1941 SLUG-CASTING MACHINE George W. Temple, New .York, N. Y., assignor to Victor Metal Products" Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 2, 1939, Serial No. 297,459

' 13 Claims. (CI. 2257) This invention relates to slug-casting machines and particularly to those capable of continuously casting molten metal directly to produce non-ferrous metal slugs or blanks of the typefrom which collapsible tubesor caps are later extruded.

The invention is an improvement over the casting machines for the same purpose disclosed in the patents to Davis and McGinnis, Nos. 1,646,854 and 1,724,914.

In machines of this character, difficulty has been experienced in that comparatively porous slugs are frequently cast owing to the agitation of the molten metal by the machine just while the metal is freezing or solidifying. Such agitation due to jerky operation of the machine affects the arrangement of the molecules of the metal so that when a collapsible tube is extruded from the slug, a defective tube having pin holes is formed. A further difficulty con sists in the proper disposal of the material trimmed from the cast slugs.

This invention therefore contemplates the provision of means for casting molten metal smoothly, continuously and without material agitation into the recesses or molds of a rotating mold plate while at the same time casting an excess of metal on the top of the plate between the molds to form a continuous ribbon integrally connecting the contents of the molds, the freezing time of the cast metal being reduced suiiiciently to permit the ribbon to be sheared oil and returned to the melting pot to be remelted and again supplied to the molds of the machine, the cast blanks or slugs from which the ribbon has been removed being ejected from the machine.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a mold plate and of the parts of the machine cooperating therewith so arranged that the mold plate may readily be replaced with a different plate having molds of a different size so that the machine is adapted for the casting of slugs of a variety of different sizes.

The invention further contemplates the provision of water-supplied cooling means for reducing the freezing time of the metal cast in the molds suiiiciently to permit the machine to operate continuously and at comparatively high speed.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a simple machine wherein the operations of casting, freezing, trimming and ejecting are carried out quickly and smoothly and with a minimum of agitation of the molten shaft 11.

metal whereby slugs of uniform size with smooth surfaces and uniform in texture and density are produced directly from molten metal without waste and with a minimum number of defective slugs.

The invention further contemplates the provision of improved means for shearing the ribbon from the slugs and for conducting and advancing the sheared ribbon back to the melting pot.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved machine consisting of two substantially identical machines having a common main drive.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, whereincertain of the parts of the duplicate righthand machine are shown in the positions into which they are moved when the mold plate is to be removed or replaced.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the mold plate showing the water jackets and the means for depressing the plungers constituting the movable bottoms of the molds preparatory to receiving molten metal therein.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the hold-down means for the ribbon, of shearing means therefor and of the means for returning the sheared ribbon to the melting pot.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the same, reversed, however, end for end.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of one of the adjustable ribbon-advancing rolls.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown by way of example, the frame ll] supports the various instrumentalities of the machine which is shown in duplicate at the left and right of Figs. 1 and 2. The duplicate machines, however, being identical in construction, a description of one will sufiice for both. The driving means for the machine includes the upright shaft ll, suitably journaled in the frame Ill by suitable bearings of any well-known type insuring smooth action and eliminating backlash, and carries at its upper end the plate support 12 to which is suitably and detachably secured the mold plate l3 as by means of the bolts M. Said shaft it also carries the worm wheel l5, meshing with the worm IE on the drive A suitable sprocket wheel I8 (Fig. 1) is also mounted on the shaft I"! and by means of the chain I9, meshing with the sprocket wheel 29 on the shaft 2|, is continuously rotated. The

shaft 2! is driven by the sprocket wheel 22 thereon and the chain 23 through any suitable source of power such as the motor 24. It will thus be seen on operation of said motor, the support l2 and the mold plate l3 of the left-hand machine of Figs. 1 and 2 are continuously rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. The plate l3 of the right-hand machine is also continuously rotated but in the opposite or counterclockwise direction by means of the worm it and the worm wheel i5 on the shaft H.

As will be best seen from Fig. 2, the melting pot 26, which is suitably heated by means not shown but well known in the art, supplies the molten metal such as tin, lead or alloys thereof, to the mold plate and the molds thereof through the valve 27. Said valve may be of any well-known type adapted to be adjusted to accurately control the size and rate of the flow of the continuous stream of metal passing therethrough.

The mold plate I3 is provided with a series of mold cavities or recesses 28 which pass completely through said plate, the bottom of each of the mold cavities being normally closed by a suitable vertically movable plug or plunger 29 having a preferably flat top and free to move in the cavity. The stream of metal permitted to flow through the valve 2'! is such that not only are the mold cavities 28 filled as the mold plate rotates but an excess of metal overflows out of the cavities and is deposited on the top surface of the plate to form an arcuate integral slug-connecting ribbon 35 having more or less irregular side edges and an irregular top, by means soon to be described, to leave the slugs or blanks 33 in the mold cavities of the exact size required and with smooth surfaces throughout.

Each of the plugs or plungers 29 of the mold cavities rides in and rests on the bottom of the circular cam groove 30 made in thewall 3! of the fixed annular water jacket 32 arranged un der and supporting the peripheral part of and surrounding the edges of the mold plate I 3. The bottom of the cam groove 33 is substantially level for the greater part of the circumference of the wall 3!, but, as shown in Fig. 4, said groove is partly filled by the insert 31 at the point where ejection of the finished slugs 33 is desired, that is, just past the shearing knife 34 and in advance of the plug-depressing spoked wheel 35 (Fig. 2).

It will be understood from the above description of the plungers 29 and the groove 30, that said plungers 29 are normally in their lowermost positions in the mold recesses 28, in which positions they rest on the bottom of the groove 3i! whereby the mold cavity 28 is of the exact size required for the slug to be cast. After, however, the slug is finished by the severance of the ribbon therefrom, the bottom of the plunger rides out of the groove 30 on to the top of the cam part or insert 37, the plunger rising in the mold cavity 28 and ejecting the slug therefrom.

The slugs so ejected rest on the tops of the plungers 29 which are at this time flush with the upper surface of the plate. The lugs are carried by the plate l3 against the deflector plate 38 thus to be removed from the mold plate and to be deposited in a suitable inclined trough 39 down which the slugs slide to drop into a suitable container therefor.

In order to insure that the plungers 29 are in their lowermost positions in the mold cavities preparatory to the deposition of the metal in said cavities, a suitable plunger-depressing spoked wheel 35 is provided. The hub 4| of wheel 35 may yield under the stresses caused by said wheel (Fig. 3) is revolubly mounted in the adjustable and swingable bracket 42 carried by the frame of the machine. Said hub carries the radiating cylindrical arms or spokes 43, each of sufilcient length to enter one of the mold cavities as the plate l3 rotates, the spokes being spaced apart at their extremities the same distance as the spacing between said mold cavities.

It will therefore be seen that as the plate rotates, it carries that spoke 43 which has entered one of the mold cavities around the axis of the hub 4i, said spoke engaging the previously raised plunger 29 and depressing said plunger until it engages the bottom of the groove 38. The spoked wheel 35 is thereby caused to -rotate in a vertical plane on the rotation of the plate, the next spoke entering the next mold "cavity and similarly depressing the plunger 29 of said next cavity. Preferably, the hub 4! is provided with a spring mounting so that the inaccuracies in the lengths of the spokes or the positions of the plungers or other cooperating parts. The spring mounting as shown takes the form of a yoke 44 spring-held to the bracket 42 by means of the spring 45. The arms 46 of the yoke are slidably mounted in the bracket. Thus, the wheel 35 and its yoke 44 are capable of yielding upwardly as a unit against the action of the spring 45 to compensate for inaccuracies of the operating parts. The yoke also serves as a cover or guard for the upper part of the wheel. When the mold cavities pass the wheel 35, the plungers therein are successively depressed to the proper extent to form slugs of the correct size when metal is deposited therein through the valve -21. The wheel 35 together with its yoke as a unit is also swingable out of the Way of the plate [3 when it is desired to remove said plate. That is, the wheel is swingable from lts operative position over the plate to an inoperative position at one side of or beyond the plate. For this purpose, the single bolt 40 secures the bracket 42 to the machine frame, said wheel and bracket being swingable to the position indicated at the right-hand part of Fig. 2.

As has been hereinbefore indicated, means are provided for accurately cutting or shearing off the slugs from the ribbon 35 which connects the tops of the slugs 33 as said slugs are cast. Said shearing means is so mounted that it may readily be moved out of the way of the plate l3 in much the same manner as the wheel 35 is moved when it is desired to replace said plate with another having mold cavities of a different size. As will be best seen from Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the shearing means comprises a bracket 47 pivoted to the frame [0 as by means of the bolt 5! whereby the entire frame may be swung about said bolt to the position shown at the lower righthand part of Fig. 2.

Secured to the frame 41 as by means of the bolts 48 in the front part thereof is the knifecarrying bracket 49 provided with an inclined under surface 50 on the rear part thereof and with a groove having inclined parallel sides on the front part thereof adjacent the bolts 48. Into said groove is fitted the correspondingly shaped tongue 52 also having inclined parallel sides engaging the inclined sides of the groove. Upward pressure on the bracket 49 owing to the pressure of the knife blade 34 against the mold plate, cannot therefore result in material lifting of said bracket 49 owing to the shapes of the sides of the groove.

.the bight of the rollers 68, 69.

The knife blade 34 (Fig. 4) is secured to the under surface 50 of the bracket by means of the inclined bolts 55 passing through inclined holes in the rear part of the bracket 49, and through a slot in the blade and screwed into the inclined clamping plate 54 arranged on the under face of the blade. The blade slot is of sufficient length to permit accurate adjustment of the cutting edge 56 of the knife blade to the exact position required to shear the ribbon 36 from the slugs cast integrally therewith and to remove the ribbon completely from the plate I3. Cooperating with the knife blade and serving as an anvil against which said blade acts during the shearing operation, is the roller 51 supported on the lever 58 which is in turn pivoted to the frame M as at 59. The left end of the lever 58, as viewed in Fig. 4, is urged upwardly by the spring 60 against the adjustable stop 6| to determine the correct position of the roller 51.

The ribbon 36 being comparatively thin and consequently fragile, means have been provided to hold said ribbon down on the plate l3 at a point in advance of the roller 51 to insure proper shearing action and to maintain the slugs 33 depending from the ribbon in the mold cavities so that they will not rise out of said cavities and be made too thin by the shearing action of the knife. For this purpose, the lever 62 pivoted at 63 is provided, said lever being adjusted to put the proper pressure on the unsheared ribbon as by means of the adjusting screw M. It will be seen that as the plate l3 rotates, the cutting edge 56 of the knife blade which rests on the top of the plate l3 passes underneath the ribbon 36 and separates said ribbon from the plate as said ribbon passes the roller 51, at the same time the unsheared part of the ribbon is held down to the plate by means of the lever 62. The roller 51 serves the additional function of bending the sheared ribbon past the upper beveled surface 65 of the knife blade and partly around the roller so that advance of the sheared ribbon is substantially in a vertical position or at right angles to the plate surface during the rotation of the mold plate.

It will be understood that the entire frame 41 with parts secured thereto may be moved or swung as a unit from its operative position above the plate I3 to an inoperative position in front of, beyond and out of the way of the mold plate when said plate is to be replaced by another. This is done by first removing the locking pins 53 (Fig. 1) and then swinging the frame and the parts carried thereby including the knife blade 34, the roller 51 and the lever 62 about the pivot to the position shown in Fig. 2.

In order to advance the sheared ribbon 36 back to the melting pot 26, the ribbon is conducted around the adjustable roller 61 and into The roller 61 is revolubly and adjustably supported so that the angle which its axis makes with the path of advance of the ribbon may be changed as required to put the minimum stress on the comparatively fragile ribbon. For this purpose, the roller shaft H1 is secured to the adjustable member H pivoted as at 12 for adjustment about a horizontal axis and carried by the post 13 adjustable about a Vertical axis and adapted to be clamped in its adjusted position by suitable bolts. A flange M on the roller 61 prevents the ribbon from moving off said roller during the advance thereof.

As shown particularly in Fig. 6, the central part 15 of the roller 68 is provided with a corrugated surface. Said part 15 is generally cylindrical, and its ends abut against the fiber discs 76 clamped between the roller flanges or collars 11 and 18. The collar 18 is secured to the roller shaft 19 while the collar 11 is loose on said shaft. Between the loose collar H and the loose collar 89 on the shaft 19 is interposed the spring 8!. An additional collar 82 is fixed to the shaft 19, an adjusting screw 83 being provided to adjust the pressure exerted by the collar 86 on the spring 8| and consequently adjusting the endwise pressure upon the loose collar '31, whereby the endwise pressure on the surface E5 of the roller 68 may be adjusted to change the resistance thereof to rotation relatively to the flange or collar 13 thereof.

The surface I5 may therefore rotate at the same speed as the shaft E9 or at a lesser speed if desired depending on the adjustment of the screw 83, whereby the minimum amount of tens'ion is put on the ribbon sufficient to advance it into the melting pot without rupturing it. In other words, if the screw 83 is loose, it is ineffective to force the member l5 against the fiber discs 16 so that the collar it may rotate without substantial rotation of the member 15. When the screw 83 is tightened, some of the slippage between the member 15 and the discs 1'5 is taken up and the member is driven frictionally by the disc. When the screw 83 is fully tightened, the member rotates at the same speed as the shaft 78.

The roller 69 is not driven positively but rotates by reason of its engagement with the advancing ribbon or with the member E5. The shaft 19 is rotated through a sprocket wheel thereon through the chain 8 1 (Fig. l), which engages a sprocket wheel on the shaft 85. Said shaft carries the bevel gear 86 meshing with the bevel gear 3'! on the shaft 88, which carries the sprocket wheel 89 driven by the chain 90 through a sprocket wheel on the worm shaft Ii.

Means are provided for insuring the freezing of the ribbon 36 and of the slugs integrally cast therewith before the shearing knife 34 becomes operative. Said means includes the fixed water jacket 32 having an upper wall 3! on which the plate !3 rotates. The jacket is kept cool by cold water entering thereinto through the pipe 9|. The water after conducting the heat away from the plate It leaves the jacket through the ipe $32, the waste water being conducted from the water jacket through a suitable drain pipe 192 emptying into a suitable receptacle or into a drain. The circulation of water thus created in the Water jacket 32 aids in quickly freezing the metal, which being exposed to the atmosphere at the top thereof, cools comparatively rapidly.

Additional means such as the movable Water jacket is also provided for insuring the freezing of the molten metal before it reaches the knife 3 Said auxiliary jacket is in the form of a comparatively long narrow chamber having a bottom 23 provided with a suitable groove 9? on the under surface thereof for the passage of the ribbon. The jacket 95 is hinged at its rear end as at 98 to a suitable bracket so that it may be lifted out of the Way of the plate 53 when the plate is to be replaced or removed. An inlet pipe as 99 leading from the Water supply pipe H30 conducts cold water into the auxiliary jacket, the discharge pipe itl connected to the discharge pipe 102 conducting the warmed water from the auxiliary jacket whereby circulation of cold water is created within the auxiliary jacket. Said jacket conducts the heat from the plate l3 imparted to it by the molten metal. Preferably, the groove 97 in the auxiliary jacket is made as shallow as possible so that the wall thereon is as close to the molten metal as possible. The groove is preferably somewhat deeper at its front end than at its rear end and is of arcuate shape conforming to the arcuate shape of the ribbon 36. Should excess metal be deposited on the plate I3 in the formation of the ribbon, the excess thickness does not interfere with the operation of the machine since the ribbon when excessively thick merely engages the bottom of the groove 91 and slightly raises the auxiliary jacket about its pivot 98.

It will be seen that the machine herein described is adapted to continuously cast accurately formed and uniformly dense slugs of various sizes automatically, without agitation of the molten metal and without waste of metal; that efficient means have been provided for conducting the waste ribbon back to the melting pot where the metal is reused; that the machine can be adjusted with accuracy to varying conditions and that the operating parts can be moved out of the way of the mold plate with ease and efiiciency when it is desired to replace said plate with one having mold cavities of a different size.

It will therefore be seen that there has been provided a machine well adapted to meet the severe requirements of practical use.

While I have showfn and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto but intend to claim the invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for casting collapsible tube slugs, means for continuously casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon means for continuously shearing oif the ribbon from the slugs to trim the slugs, and means for continuously advancing the sheared ribbon into position for remelting by said casting means, said last-mentioned means comprising a first roller carried by the frame in the path of the sheared ribbon and having the axis thereof ar ranged at an angle to the plane of the sheared ribbon to change the direction of advance of the ribbon and to twist the ribbon, a pair of cooperating rollers in spaced relation to the first roller, the axes of said cooperating rollers being parallel to each other and substantially parallel to the axis of the first roller, said pair of rollers receiving therebetween the ribbon from the first roller and further advancing the ribbon, and means to drive one of the pair of rollers.

2. In a machine of the character described, means for casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon including a mold plate, pivoted means for cooling the ribbon and the slugs, said pivoted means being movable into an inoperative position beyond said plate to permit removal of said plate from the machine, pivoted means for shearing the ribbon from the slugs, said shearing means being also movable into an inoperative position beyond the plate to permit removal of the plate from the machine, vertically movable plungers in the plate, means for raising the plungers, and pivoted means movable into an inoperative position beyond the plate for lowering the plungers.

3. In a machine of the character described, means for continuously casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon, said means including a continuously revoluble mold plate, means pivotally mounted for movement into an operative position over said plate and into an inoperative position beyond said plate for shearing off the ribbon from the slugs to trim the slugs and a pivotally mounted water jacket movable into a position over said plate when operative and movable into an inoperative position beyond said plate.

4. In a machine of the character described, a mold plate having spaced mold cavities therein, means for continuously rotating said plate, means for casting molten metal into said cavities and on the surface of said plate between the cavities to form a ribbon integrally connecting the contents of said cavities, a fixed Water jacket at the peripheral part of said plate, a pivoted water jacket movable into an operative position over said plate and into an inoperative position beyond said plate, means for continuously shearing the ribbon from the contents of the mold cavities, a pivoted support for said shearing means movable into a position wherein said shearing means is operative and into another position Wherein said shearing means is beyond the plate, plungers in said mold cavities, cam means for moving said plungers upwardly to eject the mold contents, means for depressing the plungers after they have been moved into ejecting position and means pivotally supporting the plunger-depressing means for movement into the operative position thereof and also for movement beyond the mold plate.

5. In a machine including a melting pot for casting collapsible tube slugs connected intergrally with a metallic ribbon, means for continuously shearing the ribbon from the slugs, and means for advancing the sheared ribbon to the melting pot, said ribbon-advancing means including a first roller at the shearing point of the ribbon, a pair of cooperating rollers spaced from and interposed between the first roller and the pot and having axes at substantially right angles to the axis of the first roller, a fourth roller between the first roller and said pair to guide the ribbon from the first roller into the bight of the pair of rollers, and means for adjustably supporting the fourth roller to vary the direction of the axis thereof and thereby to twist the ribbon for the entrance thereof between the pair of cooperating rollers.

6. In a machine of the character described, movable means for casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon, a pivoted frame normally arranged over the ribbon and swingable into an inoperative position beyond the casting means, edged ribbon-shearing means on the frame, ribbon-bending means on the frame cooperating with and adjacent the shearing means to direct the ribbon in a substantially vertical path on movement of the casting means, and an adjustable roller arranged above the frame and in the path of movement of the ribbon and receiving the bent ribbon from the bending means, the axis of the roller being substantially perpendicular to the edge of the shearing means for advancing the sheared ribbon in a predetermined path other than said vertical path.

7. In a machine of the character described,

means for casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon, said means including a circular revoluble mold plate having a horizontal top surface, a metallic water jacket having a horizontal bottom surface normally resting by gravity on the plate, said water jacket having an arcuate groove in the bottom surface thereof coaxial with the plate for the passage of the ribbon therethrough on the rotation of the plate, and a fixed horizontal pivot for the water jacket arranged above and outwardly beyond the plate to control the movement of said jacket vertically toward and from the plate when the height of the ribbon is greater than the height of the groove, said jacket being manually swingable about said pivot to a position wherein said bottom surface is approximately vertical.

8. In a machine of the character described provided with means including a pot for casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon, said machine also having a ribbonshearing knife, a hold-down lever adjacent the knife for maintaining the ribbon in position for the shearing thereof off the slugs by said knife, a roller between the lever and the knife, said roller being arranged with the axis thereof above the cutting edge of the knife, said roller bending the sheared ribbon and also cooperating with the lever to hold down the ribbon at spaced points, a frame carrying the roller and the lever, and means for pivotally supporting the frame for movement into an inoperative position spaced from the casting means.

9. In a machine of the character described provided with means including a pot for casting a series of spaced slugs connected integrally with a ribbon, said machine also having a ribbon-shearing knife, a'hold-down lever adjacent the knife for maintaining the ribbon in position for the shearing thereof off the slugs by said knife, a roller between the lever and the knife, said roller being arranged with the axis thereof above the cutting edge of the knife, said roller bending the sheared ribbon and also cooperating with the lever to hold down the ribbon at spaced points, a frame carrying the roller and the lever, means for pivotally supporting the frame for movement into an inoperative position spaced from the casting means, and a second roller carried by said frame and movable therewith and arranged above and in spaced relation to the first-mentioned roller and guiding the sheared ribbon toward said pot.

10. In a machine for the direct casting of collapsible tube slugs from molten metal and provided with means for continuously casting a series of spaced apart slugs connected integrally with a ribbon and also provided with means for continuously shearing off the ribbon from the slugs to trim the slugs, that improvement consisting of a spring-pressed lever pivoted adjacent the shearing means, a roller carried by the lever and serving as an anvil to cooperate with the shearing means to bend and to advance the sheared ribbon in a given direction, a second lever adjacent the roller and independent of the spring-pressed lever and cooperating with the roller to hold the unsheared ribbon at spaced apart points against buckling during the action of the shearing means, and roller means in the path of advance of the ribbon for determining the path of movement of the sheared ribbon past the first-mentioned roller.

11. In a. machine of the character described, means for shearing the ribbon from a series of cast slugs connected integrally by the ribbon and to advance the ribbon in a given direction, a pair of cooperating rollers in the path of the sheared ribbon receiving the ribbon therebetween and engaging and advancing the sheared ribbon in a predetermined direction other than said given direction, means to drive one of said rollers including a shaft passing loosely through said one roller, said last-mentioned means driving the other roller through said one roller and said ribbon, and means for adjustably connecting said one roller to the shaft and for also adjusting the rotation of said one roller relatively to the shaft to conform to the linear speed of movement of the sheared ribbon and thereby to adjust the tension on the ribbon.

12. In a machine of the character described provided with means including a pot for casting slugs integrally connected by a ribbon and for shearing the ribbon and advancing the sheared ribbon, means to return the ribbon to the pot, said ribbon return means comprising a roller, a shaft on which the roller is loosely mounted, a second roller cooperating with the first roller to receive the ribbon therebetween and to advance the sheared ribbon along a predetermined path leading to the pot, and means for yieldingly applying pressure to the first roller to vary the speed of rotation of said first roller relatively to its shaft, whereby the tension on the ribbon is adjustable to a predetermined amount insufficient to rupture the ribbon during the advance thereof, said last-mentioned means including a springpressed friction disc on the shaft.

13. In a machine for casting collapsible tube slugs, a continuously rotatable mold plate having a horizontal top surface, means for depositing molten metal on theplate and in the molds thereof, means for freezing said molten metal including a water jacket having a horizontal bottom surface, a horizontal pivot for the jacket to pivotally support said bottom surface over the top surface of the plate, said bottom surface of the jacket resting normally by gravity on the top surface of the plate but being swingable automatically by the engagement of the deposited metal with said bottom surface to swing upwardly about said pivot to a limited extent when the thickness of said metal is excessive, said jacket being also swingable. about said pivot to a position beyond the plate wherein the bottom surface thereof is substantially vertical and the jacket is out of the way of the plate to permit the plate to be removed from the machine.

GEORGE W. TEMPLE. 

